


Welcome to the Hollow Forest

by DiLithiumDragon



Category: Persona 4
Genre: Alternate Universe, Game Plot Retelling, Gen, POV Second Person, story spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-12
Updated: 2019-03-12
Packaged: 2019-11-16 01:10:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 13,901
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18084521
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DiLithiumDragon/pseuds/DiLithiumDragon
Summary: You know better than to step on the toes of the unknown. Once you fall asleep, however, it's a whole different story.(A retelling of the overall plot in a single night's dream.)





	1. Dream State

You don't know how much time has passed since you fell asleep and your mind faded into the black. All you know is that when you finally open your eyes, you're sitting inside of a blue velvet limo. The change in scenery is surprising, as you remember being in the room your uncle had just set up for your stay for you, but not alarming. This is, after all, only a dream, even if the fact that you're so acutely aware of that throws you off.

In front of you, across the limo seats, sits a grinning long-nosed man with bulging eyes and a silver-haired woman with yellow eyes. The man welcomes you to this place, but does not name it, then asks if you're familiar with the concept of the collective unconscious. You want to ask why that would be relevant, but something compels you to keep your mouth shut.

It's not your time to speak yet.

The woman speaks up next, telling you not to worry too much about it and to just do your best in guiding the others. Her voice is smooth and has such confidence and poise that it's nearly entrancing. Her smile is polite and gentle, soothing enough to lull you into a false sense of security.

Things might turn out all right.

The door beside you opens and a force throws you out of the limo and into the thick fog of the outside. You land on some uneven red tiling and go to ask the two why they'd do that, but are shocked to see that there is no limo there at all. There's only the path you've landed on and the surrounding forest of fog.

You pick yourself up and note that this path leads off in one direction, the only way to go. It won't be too hard to follow, as the only colour in this muted world, but the fog is too thick and doesn't allow you to see too far ahead.

Still, it is the only way to go.

You decide to accept the challenge and walk forward along this path.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was kinda a weird experiment with second person POV, but I liked it so here it is.  
> There's kinda a background plot besides the game plot? But what's important here is that everyone is their shadows while also being themselves, this has been going on long before Yu even arrived, and from there you're just gonna have to trust me on this.  
> (Thanks to AgeofZero for being my beta on this again.)


	2. The Wolf

 

There's no sky in this place. Only the blanket of thick white fog that surrounds you. The air isn't any thicker and the fog doesn't encase you entirely, forming a clear and perfect circle of visibility around you. You can see that you're not wearing your pyjamas, but a strange black long coat and your legs are stilt-like boots now that clink quietly against the tiling with a metallic ring. You have gloves on that end in pointed metal claws and the white trails of a headband flutter behind you.

This is only a dream, but everything seems so real. Real enough that the authentic silk feeling of the coat against your skin makes you question if you've ever experienced this before.

You pause as you notice next that the path veers off to the left in a diagonal direction. When you look up again, there's a silhouette standing ahead in the fog. That definitely wasn't there before. The silhouette is human-shape, for the most part, and bipedal, but it has pointed ears protruding from the top of its head and a bushy tail coming out from behind it.

There are no other paths. The route you're on is forcing you towards this new being. You have nowhere else to go.

The silhouette's tail starts to wag, disturbing the fog around it, and a light voice, likely male, calls out to you. "Hey, new scent! Yo!"

You jump, frozen in place. Should you try to respond to them? What sort of greeting was that? Are they a threat or are they going to be friendly? You're too paralysed in your shock to make a decision any which way.

After not receiving any response, the figure draws nearer, jogging at a leisurely pace. "Don't be afraid, man, I won't bite. Promise."

They break through the fog finally, entering your circle of clarity and ending up right in your face. His eyes are the same piercing yellow as the woman from the limo and he has bright orange hair styled to fan out. He steps back, allowing you to notice that his legs and feet are canine-like from the knees down with claws and light brown fur. His hands are similarly clawed with the same colour brown fur up to his elbows. His ears and bushy tail remind you more of a wolf than a dog, looking more wild than tame. Other than that, he appears to be within your age group, either sixteen or seventeen.

He circles you once, sniffing at you like a dog might, then grins and reveals sharp carnivore teeth. "Rock. I'm Hanamura Yosuke, nice to meet'cha."

He offers a hand to you, presumably for shaking. You hesitate at first, not sure exactly how to grip the clawed hand. He may have animalistic features, but his nature seems good.

In the end, you find a way to comfortably accept the handshake and smile politely back at him. You go to introduce yourself in return, but no sound comes from your mouth. Your eyes widen and you pull back from Hanamura to grip your throat with your hands, the metal claws cold against your skin. You try to shout, to scream, to laugh or hum or make any noise at all. However, no matter how hard you try to work your throat, all that will come out is the strained air.

You know you tended to be the quiet one in every setting your parents have moved you to, but this is a ridiculous extreme.

Hanamura frowns, placing his hands on his hips. "Dude, that's a real bummer."

His under reaction seems both silly and aggravating, but you let it slide for now. After all, with no way to communicate your displeasure, there's no point in letting it bother you. Hanamura's tail swishes back and forth idly, exactly like a real dog's would.

"Well, at least you're not another animal. Or some sparkly gay vampire shit."

He grins again. You continue to frown, both unsure of what he's implying and put-off by the rudeness of his speech. He stretches his arms up over his head and you notice that he is, in fact, shirtless. He's wearing shorts at the least, which look like they might've been red jeans and have definitely seen better days.

"Well, we should keep moving. That all-mighty bitch might send in the bear if we wait around too long being boring."

Hanamura motions to the path with a tilt of his head, waiting for you to continue at your own pace. You agree this time, still hesitant. Even if you try to imagine him without the animal parts and with normal-coloured eyes, he doesn't look like a face you've ever seen before.

Of course, that's only an attempt to apply rational logic to this strange dream. You've begun to wonder if it really is a dream at all.


	3. The Cat

Hanamura allows you to lead the way along this singular path. You end up walking cautiously enough that you're walking side by side instead. Hanamura keeps a lookout around the area, as if there's something out there besides this fog and walkway. Perhaps there is. He is a wolf-like being, after all, so his sense of smell and hearing must be better than yours.

Either way, despite his coarseness, his presence is a reassuring one. As he's on alert about this place, you're also sure there's something dangerous waiting to find you.

"I really hope we can knock sense back into that dumb bear again." Hanamura grumbles to himself. At least, you assume it's to himself, considering your inability to participate in the conversation. "It's so frustrating when he just wipes the floor with us. But, hey, we've got the advantage this time. Newcomer and all. Oh!"

Hanamura turns towards you suddenly.

"I know you can't really say, but what should I call you? Got any preferences other than just 'dude'?"

You shrug, as if that'll help to answer. He grins.

"Don't care, then? Cool, I guess. I was willing to offer up 'guy', 'new meat', and 'hey you', but dude's easier and work's just fine." He doesn't pause for a second, barring you from being able to give any sort of feedback on that list. "So, then, the next item for discussion is battle. Since you're new here -- or, I assume you are since I ain't ever picked up your scent here before -- I gotta ask. Do you know what your abilities are and how to use 'em?"

You have to pause a moment as your mind reels from how complicated this setup is promising to be. There are quite a few details to keep track of all ready, such as there being a bear that's presumably hostile, a Madame in charge of this place, and this predetermined quest to defeat her. Now there's a whole battle system to worry about? Perhaps going along with things and pretending to understand would be for the best at this point.

Your lack of response gets Hanamura going again. "Oh, dude, don't worry about it. I can help you figure it out, it's really a piece of cake once you get the basics down."

Hanamura continues, rattling off weird nonsense words as he goes, but you're distracted by another silhouette appearing ahead of you in the fog. You stop in your tracks, which also gets Hanamura to stop. He frowns over at you, then looks ahead into the fog, the same direction you're staring.

"Uhh, dude? What's wrong? Something up?"

He can't see the silhouette like you do. It's stationary, the same as his was when you first came across him, and also has animalistic ears and tail on a more human-shape body. Why can you see it when he can't? Is this unique to you in this place?

Hanamura sniffs at the air, then grimaces. "Oh no." He glances behind you, back the way you both came, and heaves out a defeated breath. "Why's it have to be her next? This is such bullshit."

His ears and tail droop along with his countenance, like a real dog. You're not quite over that yet. Would his fur be closer to an animal's or a human's? He straightens up, snapping you out of your thoughts, and nods once at you.

"Let's get this over with as soon as possible, okay?"

You nod in return and step forward tentatively. Perhaps you were meant to confront Hanamura, too? It's too late for thoughts like that. Once you've taken a few more steps towards the silhouette, it springs into action and charges towards you. Hanamura's ears flatten on his head and his tail tucks between his legs, but he's not quick enough to dodge the incoming figure. They cut through the fog and into your clearing with a flying kick, which connects with Hanamura's groin.

You stumble back and wince as Hanamura is dropped to the floor, writhing and whimpering. This new character, a girl wearing a green jacket and a school uniform's skirt with bike shorts underneath, bounces back and hops on her light brown cat paw feet. Her hair is the same light brown as the fur and in a bob cut, a similar style to your own bowl cut. Her eyes are cat-like and the same piercing yellow, lively in their fury.

"What the fuck, Chie?" Hanamura growls. "Why'd you go for the critical hit, you crazy cat?"

"That's what you get, you fleabag." She huffs, placing both of her hands (which, you now notice, are similarly styled as Hanamura's, only softer, less threatening looking) on her hips. Her voice is spunky and she has whiskers that are too short to fulfil their actual function. "And before you ask, no, I'm not gonna try this on that dumb ol' bear. That'd be just cruel."

"It's not with me?"

Hanamura glares up at her, still very much in pain. She shrugs with both hands. "I gave you fair warning, it's not my fault you can't remember. Anyway." She faces you and smiles, her teeth sharper than you were expecting and her tail twitching from side to side. "Nice to meet you, new guy. I'm Satonaka Chie and I'm really sorry you had to deal with this jerk first."

She kicks at Hanamura again, who rolls out of her way. You bow your head shortly in greeting, the best you can do under these circumstances. Her smile turns to a frown after a few moments of waiting for some other sort of reply.

"So. Uh. What's your name?"

"He's a mute." Hanamura stands up shakily. Something passes through your head, stating distinctly that you should leave him be. Your first instinct, however, is always to help. Before you can move, Hanamura waves you off. "I'll be fine, thanks. Just need a minute is all."

"You've all ready had a few." Satonaka rolls her eyes, then smiles more apologetically at you. "I'm sorry about that, but at least it's not too bad. Besides, it's really exciting that you're here at all."

At least they're being civil and overall normal. And consistent in brushing off your handicap. You're not sure if it'd be acceptable to call them human. You're not even sure if you're human, either. Hanamura flashes a smile over at you. "Yeah, it is."

"Oh, shut up." Satonaka hisses at him, her tail puffing out. "You don't even know what's so great about it."

"Sure I do." Hanamura rolls his eyes and head with the motion. "He's new and here to help. And anyway." He makes sure to keep going before Satonaka can interrupt, sending her a serious look. "We should keep moving. You know how that bitch gets when we dawdle for too long."

Satonaka stomps one of her cat feet against the red pathway, barely making a noise with the impact. "Ugh, I hate it when you have a good point." She crosses her arms under her chest and raises an eyebrow at him. "Are you okay to keep going, though? That was a critical hit, I took out half of your HP at least."

Hanamura groans and hangs his head. These two are far more fitting to their appearances than you expected. You try to hide your laughter, only to remember that you have no way of making any sounds in the first place.

Satonaka struts ahead and Hanamura follows along, reluctant and lagging. You offer your arm to him and, after a second, he accepts. After situating him so he's resting against your shoulders, you continue along the path after Satonaka.

The path juts out jaggedly to the right, then twists back to the left. There are no forks. Looks like there really is only one way to go.


	4. The Bird

Satonaka walks at the very edge of the clearing around you (which, did it expand since she joined you? Had it also when Hanamura found you? You can't remember but tentatively decide yes, it's grown wider), having no qualms over taking the lead. You don't recognise her face, either.

She turns around to face you and Hanamura, walking backwards and resting her hands behind her head. "Once we find Yukiko, we should be fine. She's discovered that she can use Dia."

"Woah, really?" Hanamura's head perks up, his ears raising along with him. "When did -- nah, nevermind." He raises his free hand to rub at the side of his head. "That reminds me, this guy still needs some explanation on battle mechanics."

"Oh. Oh yeah, he's new." Satonaka chuckles uneasily, then smiles kindly towards you. "Right! First of all, you gotta understand. This place has been covered in fog like this for as long as any of us can remember. So, yeah, it's kinda hard to find your way around if you don't follow the path."

You nod along, though this information is probably wasted on you since you'll never have this exact dream again. Still, it's better to accept any explanation when you can't ask questions in the first place. Like how it could be possible to get lost when navigating the single straight pathway. Hanamura rolls his eyes, a growl edging into his tone. "Why not tell him about how we're all a reflection of our true selves while you're at it?"

A flash of anger goes through Satonaka's eyes. She closes them, breathes out, then continues. "Secondly, here, in this place, we're all able to use some cool powers and the more of us there are, the better chance we have of solving this place's obstacles. We thought for sure that, when Yosuke first arrived, we'd be able to beat this thing."

"Turns out, that was a total disaster."

Hanamura heaves out a breath and leans more into your shoulder. You frown. But, again, what else can you do besides accept the rules and lore they throw at you? This is out of the realm of your imagination. It's beginning to feel like this is happening for real.

Hanamura glances up at you, catching your eyes, then smiles. "Don't worry, though. I've got a good feeling about you."

"Yeah, so do I." Satonaka smiles as well. "Continuing on, there are, like, several kinds of powers. Yosuke's got Garu, which is pretty much wind, and Yukiko's got Agi, which is fire, and now Dia, which is like a healing spell."

"Thank god." Hanamura grimaces. "The bear's a real bastard about dealing out damage. Wish I had--"

"Yosuke!"

Satonaka drops her hands to her hips and huffs. Hanamura frowns. "What? Never bothered you before."

"He's new, don't be so crude, okay?"

"Kanji's worse than I am, get on his case, not mine!"

She shakes her head. "Anyway, the bear we keep talking about uses Bufu, which I also have and is ice. And the last two are Mudo and Hama, which are dark and light respectively."

"You forgot about Zio, electricity." Hanamura stares at you a moment, his nose twitching. Then he smiles that genuine and reassuring smile at you once more. "You smell kinda like that and something more to me."

"Wait, who has Zio?"

Satonaka stops walking, frowning in concentration. Which means you and Hanamura also have to come to a stop. He raises an eyebrow at her. "Uhh, hello? I just mentioned him. How could you forget, he's a gay vampire and really sticks out?"

"Oh, Kanji!" She pauses for a moment, then her ears twitch up as she realises something. "Right, he does have Zio. Yosuke, you shouldn't call him gay just because he's a vampire."

"But he is. Didn't we all come to that conclusion when we met him?"

Satonaka stumbles with her words and continues being upset with Hanamura. You stop listening to their tangent and instead focus on the path ahead. As you stare into the fog, another silhouette comes into focus. It's as unmoving as Satonaka's and Hanamura's were at the beginning. Most likely, it's there to serve as a warning that someone else is there on the path. Maybe you're being given a special sight as the newcomer to this place. Without any sort of reflective surfaces to check, you don't even know if your eyes are yellow like theirs.

This silhouette is harder to figure out, as it's less human-shaped than Hanamura and Satonaka are. Its feet are very bird-like and it looks to have wings.

"Hey!" Satonaka perks up and she whirls around to face forward. "I smell Yukiko!"

Before either of you can react, she dives into the fog. She doesn't create a silhouette, so your theory may have some grounding in this reality. However, her earlier comment about the difficulties of navigating this place seem even more ridiculous now. Which means all this talk could be meaningless babble. Hanamura rolls his eyes, then looks to you for some sort of input on this development. You wonder briefly what his reaction might be if you gave him a pat on the head. Would it be too demeaning? Would he enjoy it like a real dog?

Before you can decide whether or not it would be worth it to try, Satonaka returns with a different girl in tow. "New guy, this is Amagi Yukiko. Yukiko, say hi!"

The girl, Miss Amagi, waves slightly and stares down at the red tiling of the path. You're sure that, even if you had your voice, you'd be struck speechless regardless. Miss Amagi's hair is long and black, very traditional looking, and her eyes are a softer yellow. Beyond that, the only other human-like thing about her is her torso, on which she's wearing a sleeveless red cardigan and a pleated black skirt longer than the one Satonaka wears. Then she has wings for arms with pink feathers that glow white at the tips and powerful looking bird talons for legs and feet. That explains the sleeveless nature of her cardigan, but not how she got dressed in the first place.

The word 'harpy' comes to mind, but Miss Amagi is clearly less chaotic than the connotation of that implies. Satonaka glances from you to Miss Amagi and throws her hands up in the air with a groan. "C'mon, you two, no need to be shy! Look, if nothing else, you can show off your new ability for us, Yukiko."

Hanamura lifts the hand that's still wrapped around your shoulder. "I'd appreciate it."

Miss Amagi looks up and blinks at Hanamura, as if just noticing his presence. "Oh. Sorry, Yosuke-san."

She closes her eyes, then waves one of her wings over the both of you. A warmth washes over you in the flash of soothing orange light and your mind is immediately rejuvenated from its tired state. You hadn't even been aware that all this interaction had drained you to that point. Hanamura springs up, off your shoulder, and pumps his fist into the air. "Hell yeah! This is awesome, Yukiko-san, thanks!"

She smiles at him, polite and soft. "You're welcome. Though, I'm curious. What did you do to make Chie attack you so viciously this time?"

Her tone is composed with just a sprinkle of curiosity, yet you can hear an underlying jolliness to it. It's rather endearing and reminds you a bit of your own voice, if more clear in communicating its emotion. Satonaka yowls, throwing her head back. "It wasn't that vicious!"

"That's the thing!" Hanamura waves his arms out as he talks. There's as much energy in his movements as there is in his voice. "I didn't do anything to set her off this time. She just came flying in and kicked me in the dick for no good reason!"

"I totally had a reason!"

Satonaka huffs, her tail thrashing in annoyance. Hanamura, in retaliation, lowers his voice to an aggravated growl. "Then tell me what it was all ready!"

"You won't remember tomorrow, so there's no point! I even gave you fair warning, but of course you don't remember that, either!"

Satonaka hisses at him, the rest of her fur standing on end as her tail puffs up. Hanamura is similarly ruffled and they look about ready to brawl for real. You should definitely intervene this time as well.

Before you have a chance to step in and grab their attention, however, Miss Amagi bursts into loud giggles. It's enough to distract Hanamura and Satonaka from their spats and dissipates all the tension in the air. Miss Amagi's giggles quickly grow into cackling, uncontrolled laughter. Hanamura stands down and deflates while Satonaka hangs her head. "Oh my god, really? Are you seriously laughing at this again?"

"B-But. But Chie." Miss Amagi struggles to speak through her laughter. She's only half-successful. "Y-You two fight like-like cats and dogs!"

She continues to laugh, holding her wings to her stomach in a very human gesture. At least she seems to be enjoying herself. That's certainly more than you can say for yourself, as you're growing concerned about this not being the dream you thought it was. Since it has stopped the fighting between Hanamura and Satonaka, however, you let them be.


	5. The Bear

Satonaka continues trying (and failing) to get Miss Amagi's giggle fit to subside, which leaves Hanamura and you to lead the way once again. Hanamura glances over at you, catching your attention, then shakes his head. "We certainly make the most undignified, ragtag team, don't we?"

Before you can react, a booming voice reaches you from somewhere ahead in the fog. "More like an unsophisticated lot of troublemakers."

It's your only warning. Hanamura and Satonaka, like you, go on alert instantly, allowing them just enough time to pull you and Miss Amagi out of the way of a rain of icicles that comes crashing down on the spot you'd been previously inhabiting. Despite the sense of danger, Miss Amagi continues laughing. "He even shows up at an unbearable time!"

"Yukiko, it's battle time. Please focus."

Satonaka's plead seems to help, as Miss Amagi clears her throat to put a stop to her laughter. The circle clearing around you broadens to reveal a larger area, not just a pathway, where a grizzly bear stands snarling at you and the others. The bear's body is red with three large buttons going up its chest in a white patch and its head is blue with a zipper going around its neck, but otherwise it looks like a real bear. It stands on its hind legs, making itself look even taller. Behind it is a black and red door that resembles some sort of portal, but square.

That's probably your way to proceed on with this quest to fight the Madame in charge.

Hanamura steps up beside you, brandishing his claws almost like knives. "All right, Teds, take it easy. We got a full party of four to help us knock you back to your senses this time."

The bear looks squarely upon Hanamura (and you notice that its eyes are blacked out with only its yellow irises as the visible colour) and snorts menacingly. "You broke protocol."

"I -- What? There's a protocol?"

Hanamura falters, too confused by this statement to focus on the danger. It's the opening the bear seems to have been looking for, as more icicles rain down at you from above. You, however, were ready this time. You pull Hanamura along, out of the danger. From somewhere behind you, Satonaka cries out in an offended tone. "We all broke protocol, kinda! Why single him out?"

Hanamura gives a frustrated growl. "Just my luck, or lack of it, I guess."

He flashes you a quick, grateful smile, then rushes out to slash at the bear with his claws. He's fast enough to hit the bear successfully, but not quite quick enough to back away before it can grab him by the throat. Miss Amagi and Satonaka cry out in distress, watching Hanamura struggle, and you find yourself faltering, too.

A voice deep inside of you asks if you truly wish for the power to help them. If you truly wish to be here at all.

There's no time to mull it over or weigh your options. You step forward and accept responsibility.

The moment you do, a shock of power flows through you and manifests itself at your hands and forms itself into the shape of a pole arm sword. Without hesitating or thinking more on it, you run over and slash your weapon across the bear's arm, making it drop Hanamura. Sparks of electricity zap along the bear's whole body, paralysing it long enough for you to grab Hanamura and back away, nearer to Satonaka and Miss Amagi and out of its reach.

Strangely, there's no gashes or blood from where you and Hanamura struck the being. There's no visible damage at all, even. Your companions did mention HP before, but that sounded too game-like at the time.

Satonaka, Miss Amagi, and Hanamura look to you. Accepting you as their leader for some reason. You think you've strategized enough in your real life to think up a solution here. Perhaps even achieve a victory. As if understanding the plan in your head the moment you think it, Satonaka nods to you and steps out in front, ready to strike. "It's worth a shot. Yukiko, you okay to do this?"

"I'll try my best."

Miss Amagi gives an encouraging smile, spreading her wings a bit in preparation. Satonaka dives towards the bear and unleashes a flurry of kicks, making it need to defend itself and effectively distracting it. Miss Amagi, meanwhile, waves her wings over Hanamura once more, washing him over with that warm glow. You notice that she has tail feathers, but don't allow yourself to get distracted further. Hanamura takes a deep breath, then springs up onto his feet. "Thanks, Yukiko-san. And you, too, man. I sorta rushed into that."

For the first time, you find yourself smiling out of genuine acceptance. Miss Amagi smiles as well, looking poised and ready for the next move. "Not to worry, Yosuke-san. You do this every time."

"Not every time!"

Hanamura whines in protest, playfully so, then returns to focus as the bear knocks Satonaka to the side, finally away from it. Miss Amagi gasps and performs and oddly articulate spin, her feathers flaying out beautifully. A burst of flames strikes the bear, stopping it from going after Satonaka further. "Teddie-kun, not so rough. We might make it to the end this time."

Hanamura laughs and swipes up into the air with his claws. A pillar of green wind strikes up at the bear from below, knocking it further back. You can tell that you only need a bit more before it's taken down. You're not sure how you know, you just do. You swap your weapon over to your left hand, hold out your right, and focus on that power still coursing through you. It responds instantly to your wish and you reflexively crush your hand into a fist, summoning a burst of spherical lavender light that explodes the bear and knocks it back into the fog.

Then, just like that, the fog closes back in around you, only slightly larger than before the battle. Miss Amagi rushes after Satonaka, pulling her out of the fog and back into the clearing, while Hanamura turns to you and holds out his clawed hand for a high-five. "Right on, dude! We really rocked that one."

"I've never seen an attack like that before." Miss Amagi remarks as she waves her wings over Satonaka, healing the cat girl. "You really are a special surprise."

She giggles and you're unsure of how true that might be. However, now that you're convinced this isn't just a dream, you have so many questions. What is this place? Why does it exist for them? Are they sharing this dream-like state, like some sort of collective unconscious, just as the long-nosed man said? How long have they been here, doing this? The questions swim about in your head in a frenzied panic, but you can't ask any of them. No matter what you try, you seem to just be mute in this place. Were they the same in that respect? Normal humans who were altered in some way by existing on this plane?

They followed your strategy, your leadership, despite your being unable to voice anything. From that alone you decide that perhaps analysing this might not be the most important thing right now and you give Hanamura his high-five with a smile.

The only thing left is to keep moving forward. As such, you do just that, heading for the door this bear seems to have been guarding.


	6. The Vampire

You find the bear cowering in front of the door, somehow smaller but just as oddly coloured. "You guys are such meanies!" It says, its voice childish now and completely different from the deep booming voice it had earlier. "It's not my fault she makes me follow her orders. I don't want to fight, but she makes me and then you guys beat me up!"

"Sorry, Teddie-chan." Satonaka leans in to pat its head, sounding surprisingly genuine in her apology. "We know it's not your fault."

"Yeah, that lady's a bitch for sure." Hanamura agrees. Satonaka shoots an annoyed glare back at him, but he presses on as if he doesn't notice. "Anyway, we got a new guy! Take a look."

Hanamura gestures to you and grins. The bear, Teddie, tentatively looks up at you and you see that his eyes are no longer blacked out. They look almost normal, save for the fact that they're still an inhuman yellow. At this point, any other colour would be cause for alarm. You smile, hopefully in a reassuring way, and Teddie relaxes in order to uncurl himself, standing tall once more. "A new friend! Nice to meet you, Izanagi. Sorry about before, hope there's no hard feelings."

You shrug, though the name of 'Izanagi' strikes you as odd. Apparently, you're not alone, as the other three turn towards Teddie in confusion, all asking, "Izanagi?"

"Is that his name?" Hanamura adds.

"That's what she called him." Teddie puffs up proudly, acting quite young considering how he still stands taller than all of you. "I remember hearing it. Aren't you proud, Yosu-nii?"

Hanamura rolls his eyes. "Sure, whatever. Hey, dude." He gestures towards the strange red and black portal door, ignoring Teddie's upset noises at being brushed off. "Wanna do the honours?"

You're not entirely sure what he's asking, as they're clearly all more familiar with this world than you, but you might as well give it a shot. Perhaps learning by doing is the only way you'll get anywhere, considering your handicap. You step closer to it, leaving the others to chatter away (or argue amongst themselves, either would be an accurate description), and really examine the thing.

There seems to be no doorknob, keyhole, or anything else of the sort that might indicate how to open it. As such, you do the next best thing you can come up with, which is just holding out your hand to it, getting ready to touch it. To your surprise, the door opens by retracting along each alternating swirl of colour, leaving only the frame by the end. Hanamura cheers and the others join in with him.

"We really can do this!" He slaps you back in a very friendly, very familiar manner. "You might be our best bet to finish this thing."

"Yeah, bring it!" Satonaka chimes in, jumping and waving her arms in her excitement. "We'll kick that lady's teeth in for sure!"

Miss Amagi bursts into laughter. "Y-You sound just like-like Kanji-kun!"

Satonaka rolls her eyes and walks forward, through the doorway. Miss Amagi follows quickly after, despite her giggling, and you look to Teddie in confusion. They all sound like they've done this so many times before. They mentioned that they've fought Teddie on multiple occasions. Yet they're fine in allowing Teddie to come along. You're the true outsider here.

Yet they've accepted you as well, just as easily.

Hanamura pushes you along through the doorway, gentle and understanding, and you really have no other choice than to go along with it. This whole place seems to just be a straight path, after all. Teddie follows along last, his claws clicking against the red tiles of the walkway.

"So." Hanamura starts, getting Satonaka to flip around and walk backwards again while Miss Amagi simply glances back. "Where's that come from if that's not his name?"

Teddie pipes up from behind both of you. "It's what she called him, Yosu-nii. It's not a name, it's a role."

You frown as you try to wrack your brain and remember what god specifically Izanagi is, if he had any important relations to other gods, or anything that might help make this easier to understand. While you're lost in thought, Hanamura growls back at Teddie. "All right, since you remember so much, explain why you singled me out for breaking protocol or whatever."

"Because you're the biggest threat!" Teddie gleefully explains. "The Magician is special to the Fool, after all, as the first he meets on his journey through the World."

"That doesn't make any sense!"

Hanamura groans, but Satonaka yelps loudly and stumbles, bringing your attention back in the moment. She's run into a fairly brawny man with bleached blond hair, cool yellow eyes, and a nose piercing. The guy yelps as well and tries to stop Satonaka from falling, an interestingly kind gesture that fully contradicts his appearance (as he's wearing a long black cape with a rose pinned to the front, a black tank top with a skull on the front, black leather pants and black studded boots; the most normal outfit you've seen so far). Still, Hanamura and Miss Amagi both perk up at his appearance, so you can safely assume he's one of their group.

"Kanji, hey!" Hanamura grins in greeting, so very casual. "Thought I smelled you around."

"Senpai, it's still weird when you say stuff like that." The guy makes sure Satonaka is okay (she is), then turns to face you and Hanamura. As soon as he sees you, his eyes go wide in genuine shock. "Woah! We got a new guy? Fuckin' awesome, man!"

He grins widely enough for you to notice that he has fangs like a vampire. The others did mention something about that. You nod in greeting, smiling along and Satonaka steps over with a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Kanji-kun, aren't you gonna introduce yourself?"

"Huh?"

He frowns at her and she rolls her eyes, stepping up to do it for him. "This is Tatsumi Kanji, new guy. Believe it or not, considering he's a vampire, he's actually our underclassman."

Tatsumi, the vampire, shrugs, but smiles. "It don't really matter in here, though. Especially since Hanamura-senpai ain't got the brain for it."

"Wha--!" Hanamura sputters, his hackles rising. "You make it sound like I'm stupid!"

"We did fail disastrously when you first came." Miss Amagi points out.

Satonaka laughs and Hanamura growls at them, clearly upset. You don't like the atmosphere this is creating, so you act without giving it further thought and gently pet Hanamura's head. The others look curiously at you as you gently run your hand down Hanamura's head and he freezes up for a second before slowly relaxing into it. If you had the use of your voice, you could soothe him some other, less tactile way. As it is, however, he seems to be okay with it.

Once it seems like everyone's calmed down, you withdraw your hand. Hanamura looks over at you in wonder. Almost like he's never been pet before. Behind you, Teddie giggles. "See? The biggest threat."

Hanamura's expression twists to one of annoyance, though it's mostly to hide his embarrassment, and he stomps over to shove at Teddie's side. "Shut up, ya dumb bear! How's that any kind of threatening?"

"Yosu-nii, no! My fur has to be soft and pettable for Kanji-kun!"

Teddie giggles, enjoying this rather than getting upset. Tatsumi's face goes red (can vampires blush?) and he shouts, "Don't fuckin' -- I'm older than you, Teddie!"

Miss Amagi laughs lightly at their high energy and Satonaka joins in. You find yourself smiling along as well. Despite their mostly inhuman looks, you appreciate their humanity. And you've started to really think of them as comrades. As friends.


	7. The Robot

It takes a bit of convincing, but you manage to get everyone to move along with some help from Hanamura. Out of all of them, so far, he's the one who's most accepted you as leader, it seems. They're all very willing to put their trust in you, however, as they follow along after you on this straightforward path.

It's funny. You never considered yourself yourself a dog person. Yet you find yourself drawn most to Hanamura, in turn. Perhaps it was a predispositioned outcome from the start, as Teddie seems to believe.

A whirring sound, not unlike that of a rocket or something similar, filters through the fog to you and makes you pause. There's no silhouette at all, however. Not in front, behind, around, or above you. Then again, one didn't appear for Tatsumi, either. The others frown at you for stopping, then Hanamura's and Satonaka's ears prick up. They can hear it, too. Hanamura grins. "Sounds like we've found our chief analyst."

"Shit, that really him?"

Tatsumi shrinks back, trying to hide behind Teddie. The grizzly bear is still the tallest, being a bear standing on its hind legs and all, but Tatsumi is a bit taller than you, too. Making the sight almost comical. Satonaka throws her hands up in a shrug. "Don't worry, Kanji-kun. Naoto-kun can help us figure out some things about the new guy."

"And he always apologises later if his programming makes him say something too robotic."

Miss Amagi smiles cheerily back at Tatsumi, though Tatsumi remains unconvinced. You decide to try and step forward a few more paces, wondering how you might trigger the appearance of this new being. The rules seem to have changed now that you've entered a new area beyond that door.

After a few steps, as you expected, a rather android-like being rockets down and lands right in front of you. They have plane wings protruding from their back and clunky looking arms and legs, unabashedly metal without even trying to look more human.

They stand and look you up and down with their gleaming yellow eyes, then nods. "Dolaon user confirmed."

They're wearing a dark blue hat, which is a shade off from their dark blue hair. The fact that they have hair at all is what really throws you off. Hanamura gestures to them and grins broadly. "Meet the genius detective Shirogane Naoto. He's the one with Mudo and Hama."

"Possibility of defeating the next checkpoint increased by fifteen percent."

"And I forgot he just does that."

Hanamura deflates. Satonaka draws closer, which gets the others to as well. "Hang on, Naoto-kun. What's Dolaon? I don't think I've ever seen any of us use that or mention it before."

Shirogane whirs a moment, a distinctly mechanical processing noise that reminds you of an old laptop. His mouth is a simple rectangular opening, which is a smart design choice in your opinion. "Dolaon is Almighty. It is the same type that the Madame uses."

Satonaka makes a small noise of understanding, despite not looking like she understood at all. Miss Amagi, meanwhile, voices her confusion willingly. "How do you know that? We've never been able to reach her before."

Shirogane tilts his head to the side as he thinks, then shakes his head. "The analysed data is correct."

Teddie raises a paw joyfully. "Nao-kun is right!"

"The evidence matches the conclusion perfectly."

Shirogane seems satisfied at having been correct. The others, besides Teddie, all seem daunted by this fact at first. After a second, however, Hanamura perks up and slings an arm around your shoulders. "Then it looks like we got the perfect counter."

"Hell yeah!" Tatsumi agrees, punching his fist into the air and blowing his cover. He seems flustered by everyone's gazes turning to him and scrambles to hide behind Teddie once again. "Uh. We should get going, then. Punch our way to victory and-and all."

Satonaka and Miss Amagi share a laugh at his bashfulness. Shirogane says, "Mister Tatsumi, my sensors can detect your presence even when attempting to hide behind Teddie-kun. What you are doing does not compute."

"Wha--! Wh-Who said I was hiding?" Tatsumi shouts and steps out from behind Teddie, looking ready to fight. "I-I was just. Uhh. Keeping my head! 'Cause your blood smells delicious!"

"I am a robot here, Mister Tatsumi. I do not have blood in this form."

"Wait, th-that's not what I meant!"

Tatsumi fervently tries to explain himself to Shirogane, who continues to easily deflect each excuse. Miss Amagi, Satonaka, and Teddie all laugh at the spectacle, though in a much friendlier manner than you were expecting. Hanamura grins over at you once again and you find that you really appreciate his smile. "We can try all we want, but we're just a ragtag group of misfits at the end of the day, eh, partner?"

You nod and smile in return. You may be a bit unsure of how exactly you got here or why this is happening at all, but you have come to like this group of beings. They speak easily and honestly even with you, an outsider, and you really respect that.

If they believe you can help them to finish the mystery of this place, then you'll do everything in your power to help them.


	8. The Voice

"This is nice. Almost forgot what having friends was like."

You jump and quickly look around for the source of that unfamiliar voice. Past the clearing where you stand with everyone, there's nothing but fog. Hanamura frowns and allows you to step out of his grasp as you continue searching. "What's up? Didja see something?"

He has the better hearing. Why didn't he hear it? Your mind whirls with thoughts, but one sticks out and the unfamiliar voice says it aloud for you once again. "Something's definitely out there."

This time, Hanamura's ears prick up, catching it, and he smiles lopsidedly. "Her range has increased. Hold on, I'll go get her."

He jumps into the fog, out of view. Satonaka, meanwhile, is drawn over and asks, "Do I keep hearing Rise-chan's voice?"

Unsure of anything, you shrug. Strangely, the voice has stopped for the moment. Miss Amagi is drawn over, too, and smiles reassuringly at you. "Rise-chan should be the last one of us. Oh, and don't freak out too much when you see her, all right?"

Satonaka nods in agreement. "Yeah! It's hard to tell here, but she's pretty sensitive about her looks."

You glance from them over to Teddie, Shirogane, and Tatsumi, then back to them in confusion. Miss Amagi giggles, using her wingtips to hide her face almost like a fan. "Looks like we have nothing to worry about."

You shrug again and Satonaka laughs cheerily. With how many twists and turns this place has thrown at you, it is surprisingly that you've taken most of it in stride. Then again, you were sure this was only a dream at the start and it has yet to stop following that dream logic. Hanamura breaks back through the fog and into the clearing, towing along a new being. "Got her! Partner, this is Kujikawa Rise."

"She analyses things and that's how we know most of what we do about all this." Miss Amagi joins in. "Though, she has no battle capabilities on her own and she can't talk for herself, she's a vital part of our team."

From their explanation, her appearance makes a lot of sense. She wears a long white dress with no sleeves and has a more human body, though you can't see her legs at all. She has dark red hair up in cute pigtails and no yellow eyes for once. If only because her entire face and head are a powerful-looking satellite dish. Compared to Miss Amagi or Teddie, she ends up looking more human. And really, that's par for the course by this point. Personally, you find her to be quite elegant and beautiful.

She relaxes and steps out from her spot of hiding behind Hanamura. As you think it, she says, "Can she read my thoughts?"

The others seem a bit surprised at this, then laugh. That certainly answers that question immediately. Shirogane, Tatsumi, and Teddie notice her presence and shift over to join the conversation as well, Shirogane saying, "The newcomer is a Dolaon user, Kujikawa-san. Is there anything else you can scan from him that our sensors do not pick up?"

"Woah, slow down there!" Hanamura's laughter turns uneasy. "You don't have to scan him right away."

"No. The sooner, the better." Shirogane insists. "The more information we have before reaching the next obstacle, the higher our probability for coming out victorious."

Hanamura relents, though he still seems uneasy about it. Kujikawa, too, seems hesitant. She turns towards you, asking permission wordlessly. You brace yourself, then nod. You're ready to help them as much as you can. She stays facing you for a good minute, then begins to speak again. "Want to help. Willing to do this. I am--"

Her voice turns garbled and corrupted, making all of you flinch back and cover your ears. After a few seconds of this, she continues on, back to normal.

"I come from Tokyo City and am staying in Inaba with my uncle and cousin while my parents are abroad for work. A long-nosed man welcomed me to this world, which I thought was a dream at first. Even though I don't understand what's happening, I respect all of you as you are and wish for the best outcome to this journey."

"What the fuck was that?" Satonaka screeches, more panicked than anything else. "That's only ever happened with Teddie before! Why'd it do that with his name?"

Miss Amagi and Hanamura look to Teddie quizzically. Teddie, in response, holds up his paws in a shrug. "I told you, she called him 'Izanagi'."

"The data seems to be corrupted because of her attempt to overwrite his name." Shirogane deduces easily. "We now have information that explains his sudden presence here and that is all that matters."

"Agreed." Hanamura joins in, smiling at you in complete acceptance. "You're a city kid, huh? No wonder I feel like we'll get along just great."

"But, uh." Tatsumi frowns in confusion. "You only just met us. Why feel so strongly about helpin' any of us?"

You're not quite sure, either. It's mostly due to a multitude of factors. Kujikawa, still keyed into you, goes ahead and voices this. "Stuck here and unsure of how else to get out. All of you come off as genuine and honest. Just a feeling that you're all trustworthy. Haven't had friends in a long time. Find all of you interesting and likeable."

You shrug. Something like that. Tatsumi, Hanamura, Satonaka, and Miss Amagi all seem flattered at that, displaying varying levels of bashfulness. Shirogane and Teddie, however, accept it much easier, as Teddie grins and jumps for joy. "The bonds of friendship are true power!"

"Those are all fair and valid reasons." Shirogane nods in acceptance. "Now, let us move on before we are forced to."

Everyone agrees and walks forward along the path. You smile after all of them and follow after. Some part of you wishes this won't end. That you'll be able to stay here and get to know these friends forever. But you're also curious to see where this is leading to and as such, you also wouldn't mind finding the conclusion. As long as it's a happy one for everyone involved, you'll be fine saying goodbye to these new friends.


	9. The Fog

It doesn't take too long before you hear a barking laughter break through the fog. The boundaries broaden, like they did when you encountered Teddie, and reveal another doorway with another hostile guarding it.

This time, however, it's someone you do recognise: Adachi Tohru, your uncle's partner at his job.

Hanamura, Satonaka, Miss Amagi, Tatsumi, and Shirogane all tense up in preparation for battle. Teddie hangs back, keeping Kujikawa behind him protectively. You square up, too, though the fact that you recognise even one person in this place throws you off-balance. Adachi grins at you specifically, a crazed look in his yellow eyes. "Making some friends and getting a bit too comfortable? Looks like that's my cue to step in."

There's nothing inhuman or different about Adachi's appearance, besides the twisted expression and the yellow eyes. His voice is also lighter, less threatening. Somehow, though, it's your own voice that he's threatening you with. Hanamura growls and brandishes his claws. "All right, you bastard. We're finally gonna take you down this time."

Shirogane extends his arms, producing a gun in one hand and a thin sword in the other. "Our chances for victory are higher than ever before. You shall not defeat us."

"You punks don't even know what it is we're dealing with here." Adachi chuckles darkly, looking more dishevelled and unhinged than you're comfortable with. "But if you wanna try, go ahead. I'm gonna enjoy this."

He reaches up and calls a giant black sphere from the sky, then flings it towards Hanamura and Satonaka. You react without a second thought, dashing over to block it with a swing of your weapon. The blade connects with a loud clang and you knock it back, but your hands shake all the way up to your shoulders from the impact. Hanamura and Satonaka cry out, obviously worried for you, while Adachi grins and pulls out a weapon that mirrors your own perfectly, only caked in blood.

"Izanami was right. You are loyal to a fault. I can work with that."

He charges straight for Miss Amagi, but you can see the feint he's planning just from that. Still keyed into your immediate thoughts, apparently, Kujikawa shouts for you. "Tatsumi, watch out!"

Tatsumi raises his hands, a folding chair appearing in them just in time to block Adachi's attack. Miss Amagi glances over to Satonaka and Hanamura in surprise, a sentiment the both of them easily share with her. Adachi continues clashing against Tatsumi's defence, growling in frustration. "Damn punk! Ain't anyone ever tell you not to ruin a surprise?"

Miss Amagi's expression changes to one of anger and she sweeps her wings out, catching Adachi full-on with a burst of flames. "Attacking someone without warning is even more discourteous!"

The fires force Adachi back. Satonaka leaps in to join, landing a kick directly in his chest and sending him back further. "Screw you, asshole!"

Adachi locks eyes with you and smirks suddenly. "I haven't even started. But if you're so eager, then let's get right to it."

He produces the orb again and this time an eye appears on it, opening to stare down at all of you. The fog rushes back in, covering everyone and leaving no opening, no clearing, forcing its way into your mouth and lungs and choking you to the ground. All you can see is fog and though you can hear your friends shouting around you, a creeping sense of isolation grips you in a rising panic as you struggle to even breathe.

Gunshots sound off and Miss Amagi shrieks. You try to stand, but the fog is too heavy, weighing you down. There's nothing you can do. Adachi will pick off each and every one of you, one at a time, at his leisure, until no one's left. You're not going to make it. You've failed.

No.

You clench your eyes shut in refusal and, though no sound comes from your mouth, you scream. It's Kujikawa, instead, that screams for you. "Yosuke!"

"You got it, partner!"

He knows. Just like that. Hanamura's wind billows up from the ground and sweeps away all of the fog, clearing the area once again and allowing you to breathe. It also reveals Adachi in the midst of striking his blade into Shirogane's back. Tatsumi shouts and, in pure rage, slams his folding chair into the ground so hard that the metal creaks as it gives way. A bolt of lightning strikes Adachi, a good bull's eye, and stuns him from the resulting shock.

Hanamura hurries to your side, helping you sit up to breathe better, while Shirogane knocks Adachi away with a swipe of his sword, a glowing cold light propelling Adachi further than a normal hit otherwise would. Satonaka and Miss Amagi reunite with one another as well and you're just grateful that even worked.

"You okay, partner?" Hanamura asks, full of concern. You're not the only one who got attached too quickly, it seems. You nod in reply, your breathing at least steadier, which helps placate him enough to relax. "All right. What's our next move?"

"How about dying?"

Adachi laughs maniacally, recovered from his stunned state and heading straight for you. No, he's aiming for Hanamura. You block the way, too suddenly for Hanamura to argue, and strike out with your weapon.

Adachi was going too fast and you successfully skewer him right through his stomach.

He stumbles back, taking your blade with him and dripping blood onto the all ready red stones. The blood really makes you hesitate. This didn't happen with Teddie. Hanamura and the others gasp, also shocked, so this is probably new to them as well. Adachi rips the blade from his body and tosses it to the side, where it dissipates into nothing.

"Is that really the best you've got? You really are a failure after all."

"Is this -- Did we defeat him?" Satonaka asks, her tail twitching erratically in her anxiousness. "He's not gonna die for real. Is he?"

"I dare you to find out." Adachi turns his wild, unhinged expression on you, making you flinch back. "Kill me and see if I'm dead tomorrow. Liven up this boring town a little. That's the whole reason she's playing with us in the first place!"

"Murder is a crime." Shirogane helpfully points out.

And as long as he's willing to keep fighting, none of you are about to be able to get past him. His wounds are really the biggest obstacle here, but you don't have to attack only with weapons. You might also not need to heal him if what you're thinking is possible. You look behind you, over at Teddie, and Kujikawa voices what you're thinking. "Teddie, you have ice spells, correct?"

Teddie tilts his head in confusion, at least not thrown off by the dissonance. "Yeah? Is that what you want me to do?"

"Oh, good thinking!" Satonaka grins, hopping forward and gesturing for Teddie to follow along. "Can't do anything if he's frozen, after all."

Shirogane looks to you and, though you're not sure how, you can tell he's frowning. "This is your best plan of action, Dolaon user?"

You bow your head, Kujikawa once again voicing your thoughts. "It was the best without killing him."

"You're all weak." Adachi hisses, backed against the door with Teddie and Satonaka advancing on him. "Just accept your true natures and kill me. Otherwise, she'll just destroy you."

"Fuck you!" Tatsumi growls.

"We ain't about that life. So just shut up and let us pass."

Satonaka and Teddie pause a moment to nod at each other, then both summon a sizeable chunk of ice each. Adachi can't even run, too wounded. They encase Adachi inside and freeze him into submission.

Everyone waits a moment, holding their breath, but the ice holds and it seems you've won as the door opens, inviting you forward. You certainly exhale in relief, then look around at the others. They look largely unharmed and you wonder again why only Adachi would bleed like that.

Perhaps it means something. Perhaps it means nothing. There's no way for you to get an answer, so you walk forward, towards the next door.


	10. Failure

Hanamura jogs after you, placing a hand on your shoulder and making you pause. "Woah, partner, wait up. You're not trying to head in there by yourself, are ya?"

He grins encouragingly at you and you smile back. Kujikawa speaks up for you again. "Sorry, just eager to move on. Is everyone ready?"

You and Hanamura look back to the rest of this ragtag group, as he'd called them. They all brighten up, quite lively, and hurry over to stand with you. Miss Amagi says, "We're ready when you are."

"Let's kick this lady's teeth in!" Satonaka adds, punching into the air.

Teddie whoops along and, all of you determined as one, you enter the doorway to this new area.

The path is completely visible all the way down to the end, a clearing where the stones making up the floor are black instead of red, and you're surrounded instead by wispy black fog that allows the dark red of the world to show through. The atmosphere is oppressive, as it keeps anyone from speaking up, and you're pretty sure there's a faint smell of brimstone. There's also a visible sky here, but it's a darker red and purple colour. The area is cold, but something inside you burns hot enough to make you feel overheated.

Once you all arrive at the wider clearing, Hanamura howls up at the sky. "Oii! Show yourself! We finally made it here and now we're gonna defeat you!"

"Oh?" A woman's voice chuckles and echoes around you. It seems to be coming from everywhere at once. "Are you quite sure about that, dear?"

A pale arm stretches out from the fog and gestures at you. A shadowy black puddle appears beneath you and spindly, clawing arms grab at you with the intent to drag you down into the black. And you can't break free of it. The others shout in surprise, but it's Kujikawa that shoves you out of the thing's grasp at the cost of being caught by it herself.

There's nothing you can do as she's dragged down and swallowed up by that dark abyss.

You stare at the spot, horrified, as that woman laughs all around you. "And to think, you once inspired that type of loyalty in me. Let's see how well the others do."

She swings her arm over all of you and Hanamura, acting at the same time as Shirogane, strikes up at her pale skin with his claws while Shirogane shoots at her with dark blasts of energy. Immediately, she hisses and withdraws her hand, back into the wispy black fog that seems to hide her completely.

"Insolent brats!" She hisses, pained but superior still. "How dare you interfere!"

Hanamura, fully intent on following her, collides smack into an invisible barrier at the edge of their arena, at least keeping him from falling off the edge. He strikes at it with his claws, snarling furiously, but can't even make a mark. You hold out your hand, concentrating that power and heat into it again, but quick as a flash, her arm darts back out and grabs you up, squeezing you uncomfortably tight.

"Dear husband, you'd raise your hand back at me? And here I thought I'd chosen correctly this time."

"Let him go, you crazy bitch!" Tatsumi shouts.

He tosses his chair up and it smacks into her arm, shattering into nothing. The impact is strong enough to make her drop you and you land hard on the ground with an unnerving thud. Miss Amagi and Teddie rush towards you, but the arm swats them back and sends them flying into the invisible barrier.

You struggle to stand, struggle to shout and move and protest, but even though your body is on fire, it refuses to obey you.

She swipes you back up into her hand and squeezes harder, making you cry out uselessly, as no sound comes from your throat. "Be a good, obedient husband this time and call the others off. We must settle this alone, dear."

"There's no way he's your husband!" Hanamura snarls, leaping up and stabbing into her arm with his claws.

She actually shrieks at that, dropping you once more. You think you see her arm flash red for a moment, like rotting flesh, but then you slam against the ground again and it's hard to really ascertain anything when you're seeing stars from the impact. Again, your friends try to reach you, but three more hands emerge from the fog and swat every single one of them away.

Every single one of them, that is, except Satonaka, who manages to jump over them and land right by your side.

"If that's how you're going to be, then so be it." The woman pulls back, allowing the others to rush in as well, then snaps all of her hands. "We'll do this the easy way."

Black shadowy pools of grasping hands appear beneath each and every one of your teammates. They all shriek and struggle (and Hanamura even manages to grab your hand), but are dragged down in the end, leaving you alone and defeated.

"I was expecting so much more from you." One of her hands swipes you up again, squeezing you hard enough to make you struggle back vaguely from pure survival instinct. She sighs in disappointment and draws you into the thin black fog, close enough to see her beautiful, massive body. "It seems I was wrong yet again, dear husband."

She casts you down into the abyss and you surrender yourself to the darkness, too.


	11. Shadows

You awake in a misty, empty space of white.

It's difficult to move, as your body is sore as if you've been burned all over and crushed, but you force yourself up to your feet and look around the area. There seems to be no clear indicators of where to go or what's ahead, so you simply attempt walking forward.

The further you walk, the more it seems like you aren't making any progress. Just before you can give up, however, you catch the very faint sound of Shirogane's robotic voice wailing. He sounds very distressed. It spurs you onward, almost at a full run, until you find him sitting alone in the expanse of empty white, crying like a scared and lost child.

He looks up at you as you near and says, "No one would take me seriously if I told them the truth. I'm too young to handle all this on my own. I have emotions and feel things, too, but if I reveal any weakness, they'll just use it against me and say how it makes me unreliable. Senpai, what should I do?"

You're taken aback by just how open he's being, as if speaking directly from the darkest part of his heart. You're not sure you're qualified to give him any advice, considering how you don't feel complete, either. And you're still unable to talk.

Seeing your hesitation, he stands and faces you, more violently angry than you expected. "If you don't have the confidence to know what the right choice is all the time, then you're just like me. You're real and human, too. And if that's the case."

He pauses just long enough for you to realise that this anger isn't directed at you, that his conviction has been reignited and he seems stronger, less afraid than before.

"We'll see you once the morning comes. But, for now, we've got to defeat her and reclaim this place from the fog."

He looks to you for confirmation. Even still, he believes in you for some reason. Then again, you're willing to call all of them friends despite everything. You nod in agreement and Shirogane smiles before fading away in a sparkling of light. It seems like that was the correct thing to do, so you race forward into the white, listening for any more voices to pop out at you.

It takes a while of running, but you finally hear some garbled screaming in the distance and you change course to head towards it. Though you're tired from being knocked around earlier, you ignore it in favour of finding your friends. You soon come across the sight of Kujikawa, kneeling and screeching like a malfunctioning computer towards the sky. As soon as you draw near enough, her voice (her thoughts?) forces itself into your mind.

"I'm never myself How can I be I just go along with whatever they want Whatever they tell me to be There is no me Just a mimic Just a hollow shell You can fill it with whatever It's still empty once you're through Just like me Am I even real?"

She turns towards you and you wince at the increase in volume and intensity her voice takes.

"Is there even a real me Senpai Help me Help us Please Tell me who I'm supposed to be Who I am past all the constructed personalities Past all the things they tell me to be Which one is really me"

You fight your way forward and take both of her hands in yours. Immediately, the flood of thoughts and her error noises stop. You try to smile at her in reassurance and she ends up voicing your thoughts once again.

"No matter who you decide to be, you're my friend." She pauses and you swear that she's smiling. "Thank you, Senpai. We believe in you just as much as you believe in us."

Her own words at the end surprise you, but help steel your conviction further. She dissipates into light, the same as Shirogane, and you return to walking in a direction until you hear something.

You'd like to say it's with a renewed vigour, but you're honestly a little too tired to be that energetic. However, your determination now is more than ever that you'll find and help every single one of them. You refuse to give in without first accomplishing this.

The next voice you hear is Tatsumi's, weeping sorrowfully. You find him sitting on the ground, curled up and looking more vulnerable than you'd ever expected to see him.

He looks up as you approach and speaks softly, so much pain in his tone. "No one accepts me for who I am. They think it's funny that a guy like me can sew or cook or like cute things. Just 'cause I'm a dude. And when I try to act more manly by being the roughest, toughest guy I can be, they say I'm just overcompensating. That they're afraid of me."

He continues sobbing, emotional and open. You approach gently and sit beside him, close enough to lean against his side. It makes him jolt up, looking at you in befuddlement.

"Senpai." After a few seconds of meeting your unwavering gaze, he grins. "Thanks. That's all I've ever wanted."

He stands and offers you his help, which you gratefully accept, then he punches his fists into the air in a gung-ho attitude.

"Let's kick some ass and show that we're not afraid of who we really are!"

You nod and smile in return as he dissolves into light. You really hope that this is helping them, that you're doing the right thing here.

And though you'd like a moment to rest, you head back out into the unending white, searching for the next of your friends.

You're not sure how much longer you'll last. As you walk, your whole body seems too heavy to keep going, but you persist. You can't stop now. Not just for them, but for yourself, too. You want to see this through to the end. You want to figure out the mystery of this place. You want to defeat Izanami after what she's put all of you through.

That alone keeps you moving forward, despite all of your body's aching.

The next voices you hear sound like Miss Amagi and Satonaka. You hurry towards the sounds of the two screeching and find the both of them in one place. Satonaka clings to the side of a cage in which Miss Amagi is trapped inside. Satonaka's tone is both angry and frightened. "I can't exist without you! I need you to need me! Who else would I save? Who else could be there to prove how masculine I can be? I need you to be the damsel I can save!"

Miss Amagi, meanwhile, wails like a banshee. "I don't want to be trapped here any longer! I have to get out, get out from all the expectations placed upon me! I'm my own person, not just some convenient decoration expected to do as I'm told! Who could live that way? Who wouldn't wish for freedom in that situation?"

They seem to both be conversing with one another, yet also not, as they go back and forth with the same lines over and over. Neither of them seems to realise you're there. After observing for a minute, you note that the cage has a door and the padlock on it has been undone.

You draw close enough to place a hand on Satonaka's shoulder and, finally, they notice you.

"It's you." Satonaka stares at you a moment, then deflates, her ears and tail drooping sadly. "No matter how hard I try, I can't save her. I'm not good enough to be her prince charming and whisk her away from the problems she's facing."

You shake your head and pat her shoulder twice, then lead her to the door on the cage. She looks quizzically back at you, not quite noticing it. Miss Amagi, however, catches on immediately and smiles with an unrivalled swell of hope. "That's because I -- I don't need a saviour."

She flaps her wings and raises her talons (and you quickly pull Satonaka out of the line of fire), then she kicks out with all her might to force the door open. As soon as she does, the entire cage shatters and she's free.

"I don't need one! I can save myself!" She gives a whoop and twirls up into the air, then lands in front of Satonaka to wrap the cat girl up in her wings in her best approximation of a hug. "Thank you, Chie, for giving me the courage I needed to realise I can walk on my own. That I have two working feet."

"Yukiko." Chie, though taken aback at first, hugs Miss Amagi in return passionately. "No, thank you for always being there for me when I needed you."

Miss Amagi giggles softly. "We were there for each other."

The two stare into each other's eyes lovingly as they disappear into light. You smile after them, but it doesn't last long. Your head is starting to get fuzzy and you're exhausted, but you can't stop yet. There's still two left that you need to find.

You brace yourself and walk forward, hoping you'll be able to find them.

Any elegance you might've had is now gone as you realise how awkward it is to walk on these odd stilts. You never noticed before, but a mask covers your face, hiding away your expressions from everyone. Would it be worth it to try asking why all of you appear so inhuman? Does it matter in the first place?

Suddenly, breaking through your aimless thoughts, you catch the roar of a bear. And while your logical, awake self knows you're in for a battle, in your half-awake state, all you can think is, 'Oh no'.

Sure enough, Teddie appears from the white and snarls at you, his eyes black like the first time you saw him. "Meaning is pointless." He growls out the words, his voice also reverted back to that deeper, merciless one. "Existence is a futility. All will return to the collective unconsciousness."

He strikes out at you and you're too slow to block, too tired to fight. He knocks you flying back and you land on the ground too hard to do much of anything. Even as he advances on you, you can't muster up the energy to sit back up.

The battle has lasted too long. You were all ready drained from the encounter with the Madame, but something else has drained you so completely that not even survival instinct can kick in. You wanted so much not to fail, yet here you are.

"Don't give up now, partner!"

A flash of fur dashes in, kicking Teddie back and landing by you. That's Hanamura's voice. He helps you sit up and, though he looks furious with you, there's a sincere concern in his expression as well.

"You're the one who showed up and outclassed me in every way. You're the one who really feels special and everyone knows it. So you can't back down now, not when victory's right within our grasp!"

As he speaks, his hands glow with the same light Miss Amagi could produce. It helps your mind refocus and soon you have enough energy to stand back up on your feet. Hanamura grins at you and steps back, allowing you to take charge on your own.

"I can't deny or accept what I can't remember, so you'll have to win this for us. And if you lose, I swear, shitty memory or not, I'll find you and kick your ass all over again."

You chuckle as he ruffles your hair, then fades into the light. Once he's gone, you face Teddie and summon your weapon to level at him. He growls at you again, still out of control. "The friends you make here are all a figment of your imagination. The bonds are meaningless without the time and reality to make them shine!"

You slash your blade with a voiceless shout and a shockwave of lavender energy bowls Teddie over, stripping him of that darkness surrounding him. He gasps and opens his eyes, back to his friendlier self.

"Izanagi. Yours is the power that will free this realm of the fog." He hurries over and lifts you up, preparing to throw you. "I'm glad it was you. Thank you for everything."

You have so many questions to ask, but no voice to ask them. Teddie launches you straight up into the sky, fading into light at the last second, and you have to close your eyes as the blinding white surrounding you intensifies.


	12. Victory

You land back in that dark red room, the fog cleared and revealing Izanami for what she is. She's no longer beautiful and clean, but a mass of rotting flesh, arms, and dry black hair that covers her face and drapes down her entire body. She screams at you, slamming four of her hands against the black tiles and leaning over you menacingly.

"Didn't I tell you never to look at me again? Why have you returned? You're supposed to be dead!"

A heat pulses through you and you raise your blade into the sky instinctively, focusing all that power into it. You're not quite Izanagi, but you'll have to do for now. She shrieks and strikes you down with a multitude of lightning bolts with the same lavender light as your own.

Your body is wracked by such an immense pain that your vision goes white for a second, but you refuse to back down. You can't give up after everything. Hanamura's words echo in your head as you think back on Satonaka, Miss Amagi, Tatsumi, Kujikawa, Shirogane, and even Teddie's conviction in you.

No matter what, you must endure. And so you keep on standing.

Izanami strikes you again.

Then again, and again, and again.

Each hit shakes you to your core, but you will not give in and you refuse to let her win.

It's crazy, of course. You've only known these beings for such a short time. Yet, still, you're ready to live for them and nothing can shake that determination from you.

Your weapon glows white, along with your whole body, and with everyone's words of encouragement in mind, you toss it directly into Izanami's ribcage. She screams as it zaps her with that lavender light, then she explodes in a burst that washes over everything.

You're able to vaguely see the area becoming green and clear, your friends stepping out into this new land, before you drop to the ground and lose consciousness.


	13. Epilogue

 

When you awake, you're in your uncle's home, normal and human again, refreshed and ready for the day.

Dojima is all ready gone when you make it downstairs, prepped for your first day at your new school in this new town. Your cousin greets you cheerily and you excitedly babble about the dream you just had as the two of you eat breakfast. She's only six, so of course she's immediately taken in by it all, gasping and laughing along as you recount your strange adventure.

Then you have to leave and you offer to walk with her to school, but she insists she'll be fine simply meeting you halfway. You're excited to see her personality really developing and are thankful to get to spend the year with her.

The two of you walk together until the halfway point, as you'd agreed, then you both wave to each other and head your separate ways. Right as you're preparing yourself for the rest of the day (and noticing that the sky is fairly overcast, meaning it might rain; you make a mental note to cover the TV in your room with a sheet, as Dojima mentioned it flickers on rainy nights), a rush of wind catches you off-guard, coming from two boys rushing past you in the opposite way.

"You're gonna be late, Teds, get a move on!"

"But Yosu-nii, there's important sights to see!"

Those voices are unmistakably familiar. You stop immediately and whirl around to get a look at the two. The taller of the two, presumably the older brother, wears the same uniform as you and has light brown hair styled to fan out. He's missing the wolf ears and tail, but the resemblance is uncanny. The younger boy has blond hair and looks closer in age to your cousin, even wearing the same uniform as her school and headed the same way.

"Please, Yosu-nii? I'll be a good bear!"

"If you wanna be a good bear, then go to school." The older brother smacks the younger one's back, pushing him forward even as he whines. "And get there on time or else we'll both get an earful!"

The younger one complies, walking away, and the older one sighs. Again, all you can think of is how the resemblance is so uncanny. He looks up and notices you, however, making you hurry to pretend like you weren't staring at him with so much interest.

It's a futile effort, as he bounds over to you with an easy grin. "Yo! I'm pretty sure I've never seen you around Yasogami, so you must be the new transfer student! I'm Hanamura Yosuke, nice to meet ya."

He offers out his hand and even the names are a spot-on match. You can't believe it. You accept the handshake automatically, unable to do much else from the crippling shock. After he pulls his hand back, he frowns at you.

"Uh. You okay there? Everything all right?"

You have to take a deep breath to shake yourself out of this. Then you do your best to smile politely in return. "Sorry. It's early. I'm Narukami Yu and, believe me, the pleasure's all mine."

Hanamura grins, reassured, then decides to walk with you to the school. In case you needed help with directions, of course. You don't mind and enjoy the company, even though it's freaking you out that you somehow dreamt this guy up without having met him before.

A reassuring ease keeps you calm, however. A small but strong sense that you're not alone anymore. That things will be all right. And, for as long as you're able, you're going to do your best to speak up from now on. Your voice can be your true power, after all.

And you're looking forward to getting to know Hanamura all over again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I suck at writing fight scenes... =A=  
> And that's it! I may continue this, I have a few ideas of where the story could go from here, but for now it is complete.


End file.
